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Toyota Innova Crysta Review, Road Test

The Innova is no longer a MPV in its new Crysta Avatar. Rather it feels like a premium sedan with unmatched quality and spacious interiors.

Toyota Innova Crysta Review, Road Test

Setting the benchmark is a difficult thing and even more difficult is to constantly upgrade them to retain the pole position. Undoubtedly Toyota Motors has achieved this difficult feat with its popular people mover Toyota Innova.

This MPV has remained Indestructible for years and despite the various price hikes, the Toyota continues to enjoy the tremendous response from the market. Hence when Toyota enshrined its engineers the responsibility to bring out a new version, the most difficult question they had to ask themselves is how to improve the car which is already so much loved across the country.

DESIGN

It would have been foolish on the part of Toyota to alter the winning formula of the old Innova and hence, it came as a no Surprise that the company decided to stick with the overall design of the outgoing silhouette. That's not to say that design hasn't changed as it has been smartened by a considerable proportion. The plain Jane design of the old Innova is replaced by modern cuts and creases and although the car looks a bit elongated in the profile, there is no taking away from the fact that overall design is now smoother and more contemporary than the outgoing model.

Upfront you will be getting a long nose, very characteristic of the Innova and the strong V bonnet makes the things interesting. The most striking design element, however, is the sharp kink in the D-pillar which along with acting as a visual pleasure also tries to mask the bulk of the profile. At the back, there are very attractive L-shaped tail lamps which are a welcome departure from the old design.

INTERIORSIN

Inside the cabin, Toyota has made a real transformation as it has upped the luxury quotient by several notches. The cabin is flesh and feels as it belongs to a car stacking in the notches higher premium range of the vehicle. There is single piece dashboard which with its swoopy profile makes a solid impression.

The quality of the materials chosen is top class and all the elements coming together in a Toyota Innova Crysta makes a very upmarket cabin. Toyota has also provided mood lighting inside the cabin which is indeed very clever touch. The level of equipment has also been upgraded as the new Innova crystacomes with large 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, automatic climate control with vents in all the three rows. In addition, you will also be getting the information on your centre console which replicates the important data like trip metre, fuel efficiency, navigation and call records. In all, you will be getting a very lounge-like feel in the new Toyota Innova Crysta.

PERFORMANCE

The biggest change, however, manifest itself under the hood. The company has done away with the old 2.5-liter diesel motor and now replaced it with new, state of the art turbocharged diesel Motors displacing 2.4-liter and 2.8-liter prospectively and 2.7-liter 166PS petrol engine. While is the former is available with 5-speed manual transmission latter comes with6-speedThere is no Turbo lag and the new Innova Crysta pulls cleanly right from the start. Unlike the old model which suffered from the weak top-end performance, the new motor is very happy grooving in the

automatic transmission. We got behind the wheels of smaller 2.4-liter and found the engine super responsive in almost all the revolutions range. higher revolutions We feel surprised by the ability of new Innova Crysta to soak up the bombs and potholes. The company claims that it has revamped the suspension and

RIDE AND HANDLING

It would have responded even better had the Toyota decided to mate it with 6-speed gear ratio. The company has also provided 3 driving modes - eco, normal, and power and accordingly engine response will be altered. result is for everyone to see. The long suspension travel means the car is suitable for rutted roads and the rear passenger will not feel uncomfortable on virtually any kind of the terrain. Handling, on the other hand, is acceptable for its size and mass. The spoiling experience is the lifeless steering wheel which does not provide any kind of feedback. It's dull and at the lower speeds a bit heavy making the parking maneuvers quite difficult one. On the highway, it has considerable straight-line slack which takes away some of the driving pleasure from the entire package although most of the customers won’t complain about it.

With a price ranging between Rs 13.15- 22.35 lakh, the Toyota Innova Crysta is not a cheap package. In fact, at this price point, you can buy a far more contemporary and premium SUVs, so the real question is whether the Innova Crysta is worth the premium? There is no doubt that Toyota has made a considerable improvement in the new Innova Crysta and it has furtherstreng then its strong areas like space, practicality, cabin, interiors and more importantly, the range of engine and transmission. The new Innova Crysta is a very much improved iteration of the outgoing model and we have no doubt about it. Of course, it has its own share of problems like the higher engine noise, pricier nature, average handling, and lifeless steering but when considered the pros with cons, we found that Toyota Innova Crysta is well worth its price.

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